Maz Quinn in hospital after his accident at Māhia.
Maz Quinn in hospital after his accident at Māhia.
Kiwi surfing icon Maz Quinn is in for a long, painful recovery after suffering broken ribs and spinal injuries in a dramatic wipeout at Māhia.
Quinn spent 10 days, including four in intensive care, at Gisborne Hospital following the accident at the end of last month.
He is now at home recovering but says he faces at least six weeks of pain and many more until he is fully recovered and back out on the waves.
“I’ll definitely be frothing to get back out there but don’t want to mess things up, so will do whatever is needed to get back to 100 per cent,” he told Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust.
“As it is now I can’t even bend to pick Freddy (his 10-week-old son) up so I’m not a lot of help there.”
In his 35-year surfing career, Quinn said the injuries he suffered are the worst having previously only suffered torn knee cartilages and multiple stitches.
Maz Quinn is now at home recovering after his accident at Māhia.
The accident happened on June 28 when he, his partner Ngahuia and Freddy popped down to Māhia for the afternoon.
The 46-year-old said the break was his favourite spot to surf despite it being more a dangerous one that had injured many surfers.
“It’s a really world-class break, but it’s one that can have consequences,” he said.
On his first wave, Quinn didn’t quite make the drop and instead was plunged to the bottom and smacked his torso and back on the rocks.
“At first the wind was knocked out of me but by the time I popped up I was screaming in agony,” he said.
“I could feel my feet and legs so wasn’t scared I’d broken my spine, but that pain was immediate and really, really intense.”
He said he was washed into the beach by the surf but was unable to walk, forced to make a painful 20-minute crawl up the beach until he was noticed.
“It had to be the longest 20 minutes of my life,” he said.
He was eventually spotted by another person who notified Ngahuia. They then came across an off-duty paramedic who was able to get paramedics from St John Māhia down to the beach within minutes.
Quinn was grateful to be told that he would not have to endure a 90-minute drive to the hospital and instead would be airlifted by the Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust.
“I was so grateful to get that immediate help from the paramedic, and to learn that the rescue helicopter was on the way,” he said.
“It’s such a critical service to have in our region and now I have first-hand experience of that.”
Trust Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter critical care flight paramedic Gareth McDougall praised the work of the paramedics.
“The Māhia St John team had done a great job in keeping him warm so he didn’t get hypothermic; establishing IV access for pain relief; and strapping him to a spinal board to keep him secure,” said McDougall.
“That sort of attention means we can get in the air faster, which is always better for our patient.”
Caitlan Johnston is a breaking news reporter based in Waikato. She joined the Herald in 2022.
